My husband’s job caused us to move and now I found out I have to have a state license to perform lab work in the state we moved to. Is this common?

There are currently 12 states with laboratory personnel licensure (California, Hawaii, Florida, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Louisiana, Nevada, West Virginia, Montana, Georgia). Puerto Rico also has licensure. The components of the law vary state-to-state, but usually include an annual licensing fee (some are bi-annual), a provision for continuing education, a minimum education and professional competency requirements. It is always a good idea to check with your state’s CLIA division to find out if they have additional requirements above and beyond the federal CLIA requirements.